British girl killed at fire-breathing show

A six-year-old British girl was killed in a freak accident during a fire-breathing show at a Turkish resort.

Eden Galvani, believed to be from Ilford, Essex, was watching the display with her mother, Helen Zachariou, at an hotel on the Aegean coast when a bottle of flammable liquid was ignited and exploded in the entertainer's hands.

A fireball shot into the watching crowd including Eden and injured six other Britons, including three children, at the Gemini Resort in Didim on Monday night.

Eden, who had arrived on holiday in Turkey on July 25, was the most seriously injured and was transferred from a local hospital to a burns unit at Kusadasi.

She was then transferred to a teaching hospital in Izmir where she died.

The head of the resort, Kamil Koyun, was arrested as police began investigating the incident, according to the Hurriyet daily newspaper. It said the entertainer Tahir Akalin would also be arrested following treatment in hospital.

Mark Hunter, 42, whose daughters, Sarah, 13, and Shona, from Carlisle, were among those injured, told The Sun: "The girls are bearing up and in discomfort but they want to go home."

His wife Kathryn, 40, was also keeping a bedside vigil for Sarah, who is believed to have suffered 30 per cent second-degree burns to her legs and arms, and Shona, who had burns on her face and arms.

The injured were being treated at a private hospital in Kusadasi but no one was available to comment on their conditions last night.

The Foreign Office said: "A six-year-old girl died in Izmir on July 31 after receiving burns during a fire-based entertainment display at a hotel.

"Next of kin have been informed and consular staff are providing assistance.

"We can confirm that six British nationals - including three minors - also received burns during the incident.

"They are currently in hospital in Kusadasi receiving treatment. Consular staff have visited the hospital."